Popular customization of vehicles in some cases involves the application of an adhesive film to the exterior surface of the vehicle. Such a film is readily available and is provided in sheets carrying a pressure sensitive adhesive covered by a release layer.
While the present application mentions specifically vehicles as an area where such films are used, it will be appreciated that many other uses of such self-adhesive films can be contemplated and are within the ambit of the present invention.
Some films are arranged to be printed with a required graphics to be applied to the vehicle and a number of patents of the present applicant describe the slitting of such films.
Another type of film which is often applied to vehicles is known as stone guard which applies a hard coating to the vehicle surface to prevent stone chips.
One issue which remains a difficulty is that of cutting the film at required locations so that the film terminates at the edge of a panel or at any other required location on the vehicle.
The patents of the present Applicant provide an arrangement which satisfactorily cuts or slits the graphics film and has been widely adopted as a system for use in this field.
Some films such as the stone guard type product are more difficult to apply and are more difficult to slit when applied. Often these use a wetted surface of the vehicle to assist the application and to improve the adhesion when applied, but this makes slitting of the film more difficult so that the slit formed by a filament fails to provide the required clean effective cuts and can leave unacceptable jagged edges.